MIPTV 2023 SPECIAL ISSUE
1. WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF THE MIPTV?
MipTv has just ended and, while I’m writing these few notes, the total number of participants has just been released: 5650 participants from 86 countries. From them, 5510 delegates came in person and 120 joined the market through the online platform. So, apparently he market grew 22% vs. last year, but what they didn’t say is that this total includes also Canneseries, so the real number of participants of only MipTv is not clear.
Not many people (and even fewer stands), in any case. Probably still a bit more than in the 2022 edition, but that one was the first big event after pandemic and something more was surely expected. So the question is: will MipTv survive? I’ve discussed about it with many colleagues and friends and here are some general considerations.
For some of them (the majority, to tell the truth) in the next years MipTv will disappear (!). There are too many markets, the competition is too strong, lots of big groups won’t attend any more and so, in the middle run it will be impossible for the organizers to cover the costs, mainly because very few will want a stand (that is the real source of income).
For other ones (a minority, but a very well represented one), MipTv will continue its story, despite all. It is still the biggest market in the spring time and has still distinctive and winning characteristics: London Screenings (the most dangerous “rival”), for example, is a place where to see brand-new contents, but MipTv is the place where to connect and network with other people. And the increasing “intimacy” of the event is judged to be relaxing and positive to establish profitable relationships.
Nobody has a crystal ball, so nobody will know for sure what is going to happen. I personally have the sensation is that MipTv is still relevant and has “something special”; however, they have to find out something new and become something other than a “small MipCom”. Otherwise, the risk that will disappear from the radar may become real.
2. SOMETHING ABOUT CONTENTS
Regarding the unscripted contents, we honestly have to say that most of them are not so new or not so unmissable. Here you have some which haven’t been already mentioned in previous issues.
In the Korean showcase, the most original format is from the Seoul-based international format agency Something Special: Battle in The Box. Two pairs of celebrity teams are invited to stay for 64 hours in a specially designed container, the box. Through a series of easy games like the one we played as children, they can win comfort items, since the container is completely empty. When a duel between the 2 teams happens, a moving wall shifts and the winning team's space expands, while the losers’ space shrinks. A fun and curious twist.
Also, in the must-to-be Fresh Tv, presented by Virginia Mouseler, The Wit’s CEO, there were many formats which we already written about, but together with some interesting news. I’ve personally appreciated the simple but effective French Canada’s Love Is a Highway, distributed by Banijay Rights: 4 lonely truck drivers looking for love meet potential partners to share their atypical daily. Same principle of Farmer Wants a Wife, but on the road, because everything takes place on the streets: encounters, surprises, couple activities and so on. Fun and emotion in a truck.
A great new feature this year, always presented by Mouseler, is The Wit Fresh Tv Garden, which we will talk more about in the next issue.
Another unmissable appointment is the “Hottest formats” presented by K7 Media’s David Ciaramella in the FRAPA Summit. Among the new formats not mentioned yet, I chose Stars on Mars that will premiere on Fox the next 5th June.
This brand-new competition series will see a group of celebrities (the “celebronauts”) prepare for take-off to the red planet, where they will live, eat, sleep etc. in the same space station. During their stay, they will be faced with authentic conditions simulating life on Mars, and they must use all their skills to outlast the competition and claim the title of brightest star in the galaxy.
William Shatner (pic), the "Star Trek" legend, who recently has become the oldest man sent to space, has a host-like role.
3. SHOW MUST GO ON AT THE MIPFORMATS
Finally, regarding the unproven projects, Show Must Go On was named the winner of the MipFormats International Pitch, receiving a cash prize of $5,000 and the opportunity to be part of Fox’s International Unscripted Format Fund.
Developed by the Turkish FormatWorkshop, Show Must Go On will allow its participants to “turn their talent into cash.” But they have to make sure that the jury, and the audience, falls in love with them first as after 30 seconds others will decide if they can continue or not, through QR code they can scan to vote for their favorite performers.
Interesting were also Ukraine’s Weekend Without Parents, in which kids will be able to finally act like adults, and the gameshow Eyes on the Prize by UK’s The Connected Set, based on a simple, but catching question: can you follow the cup containing the ball?
The event was moderated by Maria Chiara Duranti (Chief Editor, Formatbiz) live from the stage the Palais du Festival in Cannes. Nathalie Wogue (Consultant, International Format Strategist, FAE) and John Hesling (EVP Fox Entertainment) represented FOX Alternative Entertainment on stage, while Yasmin Rawji (Executive Vice President, Unscripted – Network, of FOX Entertainment) and Allison Wallach (President, Unscripted Programming of FOX Entertainment) participated on video call. Let’s hope that the projects, for the moment still on paper, will have a brilliant future!
The best. Absolutely the best and so candid. Axel, you are a rose, a beautiful rose.